Travel Guides

Congress Avenue Bridge

One of the more unusual tourist attractions in Austin, or in
fact anywhere, is the nightly flight of millions of Mexican
free-tailed bats emerging from their roosts under the Congress
Avenue Bridge. The bridge was revamped in the 1980s and
regularly-spaced crevices underneath the new structure
inadvertently created a perfect resting spot for thousands of
bats.

The bat colony takes up residence under the bridge in mid-March
each year and returns to Mexico in early November. There can be up
to 1.5 million bats living under the bridge at the height of bat
season. During their sojourn in Austin visitors are amazed by their
mass evening emergence from their roost, which generally takes
place at dusk.

The Congress Avenue Bridge is 10 blocks south of the State
Capitol building, spanning Town Lake. A Bat Observation Center is
located on the southeast side. During bat season hundreds of people
gather on and around the bridge each evening to witness the
spectacle.